NYC Gridley Tower

rhensley_anderson May 30, 2019

  1. rhensley_anderson

    rhensley_anderson TrainBoard Supporter

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    I just looked through my messages for the past 5 years. Gad, I've been windy! Anyway...

    Here is a shot of Gridley Tower in Anderson and a sot of Gridley's board which is now in the Madison County historical Society in Anderson. Of course Gridley is long gone.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  2. Kurt Moose

    Kurt Moose TrainBoard Member

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    Wow, that's a different looking tower! Really odd to not see a bottom half.

    Glad the board was saved atleast.
     
  3. fitz

    fitz TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks for the history, Roger. Looks like it was a fine looking, though different, tower.
     
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  4. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    Roger, was Gridley a Big Four tower? It has that look.
     
  5. rhensley_anderson

    rhensley_anderson TrainBoard Supporter

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    Yes, it was a Big Four Tower.
     
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  6. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Interesting board. The use of "or" has me curious how that was chosen or applied.
     
  7. rhensley_anderson

    rhensley_anderson TrainBoard Supporter

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    I never noticed that. I'll have to look at the Board to see if I can figure it out. When I got it, all of the lines were covered with black plastic tape. The people who knew what the or meant are now dead. :-(
     
  8. Charlie

    Charlie TrainBoard Member

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    Was Gridley a separate town? Is it now a part of Anderson or was it basically just a "place" name?

    Charlie
     
  9. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    I was wondering about that too. Just checked and this map shows Gridley about 1-1/2 Miles from where Anderson is marked. This area must have been heaven for tower fans. Roger has some mighty cool stuff in his posts.

    upload_2019-6-2_13-31-20.png [/QUOTE]
     
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  10. Point353

    Point353 TrainBoard Member

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    The google map for Anderson indicates that the (former) location of the Gridley tower is about a half-mile to the west of the eastern border of Anderson, which runs along South Rangeline Rd.
    The topographical maps on the [ https://www.historicaerials.com ] site identify the local area as Gridley.
     
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  11. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Sounds as though "Gridley" is more of a neighborhood, than a town as such?
     
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  12. rhensley_anderson

    rhensley_anderson TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well, I've wondered about that, too. There was never anything around Gridley, so, I don't have any idea why it is called Gridley Indiana on early maps. I expect that you have to go back in history to get that answer.
     
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  13. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I might guess that in their heyday, railroads were so much more important to everyone. So the location was noted, whereas today it might never be shown?
     
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  14. Charlie

    Charlie TrainBoard Member

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    an example of this place naming business... There is a station stop on the BNSF/METRA Chicago-Aurora IL line named "CLYDE". It is actually Austin Blvd. As I understand it, the name goes back to the 19th century when that area was known as Clyde. It was an unincorporated area, more like a neighborhood. The town/area/neighborhood of Clyde had significance in the development of Chicago's rapid transit (elevated/subway)system by Charles Yerkes.

    Charlie
     
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  15. acptulsa

    acptulsa TrainBoard Member

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    Out west, railroads named every water spigot. Some grew into towns, some did not.
     
  16. Point353

    Point353 TrainBoard Member

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    Gridley is listed, as a station on the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis RR, in the hypsometry section of the 1911 edition of an annual report by the Indiana Dept. of Geology and Natural Resources.

    U.S. Navy Captain Charles Gridley - of "Fire when ready" notoriety - was born in Logansport. Wonder if that could be a connection?

    Then, of course, there's the hoodie:

    [​IMG]
     
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  17. rhensley_anderson

    rhensley_anderson TrainBoard Supporter

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    As for railroads being more popular "back then", remember that one in four Americans worked for a railroad in one form or another before about 1925. That was a lot of people! I expect that had something to do with Grridley, Indiana.
     
  18. LEW

    LEW TrainBoard Member

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    You will notice on the board that when you go from D to J that is a main line move west . Also you will see a 3 arm semaphore on the D side . The 36 or the upper arm could give 3 indications green yellow or red . The 35 or the lower arm could give 3 indications green yellow or red . On the J to D
    you are making a move against the current of traffic when you enter track D from J . The 3 arm semaphore on the J side the 3 indications of the upper or 3 #1 arm are green yellow or red . The #2 or lower arm would be yellow or red . 36 could give clear ,green over 2 reds , or approach ,yellow over 2 reds or stop . 35 could give you red, yellow restricting , or green slow clear . To top all this the letter E track was manual block . LEW
     
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  19. Hytec

    Hytec TrainBoard Member

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    WOW, too much information to remember, and yet you did it every day. Thanks Lew.
     
  20. rhensley_anderson

    rhensley_anderson TrainBoard Supporter

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    Yes, Lew has a great memory. I can't remember yesterday, let alone all of that data.
     

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